"Achievement Partnership Success"

Report on: Southern Perspectives History Talk 20th Jan 2017

Big thank you to Dipali Das, Dave Cooke and the Southern Voices team, for their presentation this week on "Southern Perspecives on WWI." And thank you everyone who came along!

This was a very interesting and informative "hidden history" lesson.

The big themes of the talk included: Hearing about the sheer staggering numbers of people involved in the war, from all over the then British Empire, especially the army in India. The displacement, enlistment, and the social effects of this. The fact that decisions made at that time still now affect situations in the present - with echoes throughout history. The contrast between the "white" nations - Australia, NZ - which gained independence after WWI, while British Colonies in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean did not.

Above all, the apparant silence and the lack of a recorded story of colonized peoples. And a lack of a record of women in our history books.

We saw very striking pictures depicting enlistment of troops, movements of troops, and the experiences of people caught up in the war. And heard about the research being doing by historians around the world to recover these histories.

The materials from the talk, including the powerpoint presentation, will soon be available on the Southern Voices website.

Some of the materials have been incorperated into education packs for schools, including photographs and worksheets aimed at KS2 children.

The "Southern Perspectives" material has also been arranged into a touring photographic and video exhibition, called "From the Shadows of War and Empire" which will be at various community venues in Manchester, including:

Phil Martin Centre, Princess Road, Moss Side: from now until the end of March 2017.

The take-home message of the presentation was to talk about and learn about colonial history, not just from the point of view of the ruling empire. To be aware of the wider world, and to listen out for those "hidden histories" which had a huge impact on vast numbers of people, and yet are not often heard. And to encourage our children to do the same.

Look out for further talks from Southern Voices at Alma Park in future months.

In the summer term, Southern Voices will return with a theme of "Manchester, Cotton and Colonialism" again looking at experiences of people from within and outside of Britain. For example, focusing on the cotton imports by the East India company from India, Pakistan and other regions in Asia, through to more recent experiences of people moving to Manchester and Lancashire and working in the textile industries. This promises to be another fascinating talk.

Thanks again!

For a list of future talks at Friday Parents' coffee, keep an eye on parentmail and the Sandwich Board at the school gates.

We aim to have a few informative talks each term, while other Fridays are just for social chat etc.

Friday coffee is from 9am every Friday of school term in the community room near nursery. All are welcome. Kids welcome (there are toys). Price: Free, or you can donate e.g. 50p towards coffee and tea supplies, or bring biscuits or snacks to share.